Manufacturing Engineer
Salary

Men represent the vast majority of Manufacturing Engineers in the United States. People in this role can earn an average of $64K annually nationwide. Earnings generally vary between $48K and $87K per year. Overall cash earnings of Manufacturing Engineers stretch from $48K near the bottom to $87K at the top, and the heftiest packages can encompass around $7K each from bonuses and profit sharing. While geography and experience level impact pay for this group, the particular firm is the most influential factor. Medical benefits are awarded to nearly all, and most earn dental coverage. Job satisfaction is reported as high by the vast majority of workers. The information for this snapshot was generated by responses to the PayScale salary survey.

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

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Job Description for Manufacturing Engineer

A manufacturing engineer is an expert in industrial production, who is in charge of researching and developing methods to design, build, and ship various items. They determine the best way to use a piece of machinery and how the assembly line workers can maximize efficiency. In some cases, manufacturing engineers are in charge of determining what new machinery or polices are needed at a company. Manufacturing engineers work in organizations that produce a number of goods, including building materials, consumer electronics, furniture, automobiles, and packaged food. They are in charge of performing broad research on existing technology and techniques and help to determine the most suitable equipment to use and decide on how that equipment should be stationed on the factory floor. A manufacturing engineer is also continuously working on ways to improve worker safety and satisfaction. They can write training manuals, develop worker classes, and conduct performance reviews.

Manufacturing engineers must be well prepared, organized, detail-oriented, and good at communication. It also is important for manufacturing engineers to have a deep understanding of math, physics, and computer skills. It is required for these engineers to have at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering. In some cases, it is also required that they complete a licensing exam.

Manufacturing Engineer Tasks

Identify, organize, and lead teams to resolve production and product issues.

Identify and implement cost savings and safety initiatives.

Adapt machine or equipment design to factory and production conditions.

Design arrangement of machines within plant facilities to ensure most efficient and productive layout.

Train lower-level Manufacturing Engineers.

Common Career Paths for Manufacturing Engineer

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Many Manufacturing Engineers move into a Manufacturing Engineering Manager role, and folks who currently hold that position report a much higher median income of $94K per year. More commonly, Manufacturing Engineers become Senior Manufacturing Engineers or Manufacturing Process Engineers.

Manufacturing Engineer Job Listings

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Popular Employer Salaries for Manufacturing Engineer

The Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Caterpillar, Inc., Ford Motor Company, and Parker Hannifin Corp are top-notch employers for Manufacturing Engineers in this area. Although General Motors Corporation leads the field in pay with a median salary of $83K, employees there receive a wide spread of salaries, from $67K on the low end all the way up to $118K at the top. Manufacturing Engineers can also look forward to large paychecks at Schlumberger ($79K), Medtronic, Inc. ($77K), and The Boeing Company ($73K).

Not only do salaries lack room to grow — pay ranges from $49K to just $84K — but Lockheed Martin Corp offers the lowest pay in town to boot, with a median paycheck of $62K. General Electric (GE) Oil & Gas, Eaton Corporation and Parker Hannifin Corp are three other employers with a reputation for below-average pay, showing salaries around $64K, $65K, and $65K.

Popular Skills for Manufacturing Engineer

This chart shows the most popular skills for this job and what effect each skill has on pay.

Manufacturing Engineers seem to require a rather large skill set. Most notably, skills in Process Improvement, Project Management, Manufacturing Process Engineering, and Lean Manufacturing are correlated to pay that is above average, with boosts in pay of 4 percent. At the other end of the pay range are skills like SolidWorks and AutoCAD. Most people who know Microsoft Excel also know AutoCAD.

Pay by Experience Level for Manufacturing Engineer

Median of all compensation (including tips, bonus, and overtime) by years of experience.

Experience and pay tend to be weakly linked for Manufacturing Engineers — those with more experience do not necessarily bring in higher earnings. Workers in their first five years can expect to earn $60K, but people who have been around for five to 10 years earn a noticeably bigger sum of $69K. For Manufacturing Engineers, 10 to 20 years of experience on the job amounts to an average salary of $74K. Manufacturing Engineers with more than 20 years of experience report incomes that are only modestly higher; the median for these old hands hovers around $76K.

Pay Difference by Location

With a pay rate for Manufacturing Engineers that is 16 percent greater than the national average, San Jose offers a comfortable salary for those in this profession. Manufacturing Engineers can also look forward to large paychecks in cities like Detroit (+15 percent), Houston (+8 percent), Los Angeles (+7 percent), and Seattle (+6 percent). The lowest-paying market is Grand Rapids, which sits 13 percent below the national average. Not at the bottom but still paying below the median are employers in Milwaukee and Cincinnati (5 percent lower and 4 percent lower, respectively).

Manufacturing Engineer Reviews

What is it like working as a Manufacturing Engineer?

Manufacturing Engineer in Carbondale:

"Fast paced, safe environment."

Pros: My job is fairly secure and I enjoy the people I work with as well as the experiences.

Cons: Automotive manufacturing is very stressful.

Manufacturing Engineer in Erie:

"Manufacturing Engineer for New Product Introduction."

Pros: Fun, different things every day and always busy.

Cons: 100% of my work is because other people were too lazy to do their own jobs.

Manufacturing Engineer in Orem:

"Creative Challenging Work."

Pros: The opportunity to solve complex problems in fast moving environment with good people.

Cons: Politics.

What is it like working as a Manufacturing Engineer at United Technologies Corporation?

Manufacturing Engineer in Fairfield:

"You Are A Number, Not A Person."

Pros: There's job security. Unless you screw up really bad, there's so much red tape in a corporation this size that no one will bother to fire you.

Cons: Honestly it's terrible to work here. They don't care about employees at all. All the silly stereotypical things you see of corporate culture in movies like office space, are horrifyingly accurate. The CEO would literally throw you under a bus if it meant the share price increased.